Barriers to social justice in unaccompanied youth’s lives. Feminist ethnography in institutional settings

This PhD research examined opportunities of equal participation in the lives of unaccompanied youth. Unaccompanied youth are young individuals under the age of 18 who seek asylum and arrive in their destination country without their primary caregivers. Previous research showed that some basic needs, such as nutrition and a safe place to live, are generally met in the lives of unaccompanied youth. However, other essential needs, like stability and the opportunity to be heard in decision-making, are often neglected.

This PhD study involved 13 unaccompanied youth who had lived in Finland for at least two years and were aged 15-19 at the start of the study. The research identified two major barriers to equal participation:
1) Living arrangements in the lives of unaccompanied youth create difficulties in maintaining and establishing loving, stable relationships.

2) Schools could provide opportunities for building stable relationships and meaningful social connections, but unaccompanied youth often face challenges as they are commonly placed in separate schools or learning areas. This limits their opportunities to interact with other Finnish youth in schools.
This research has shown that unaccompanied youth not only recognise their needs but also assert their right to have those needs met. The findings strongly suggest the need to assess and reconfigure the practices and structures within the lives of unaccompanied youth to promote social and emotional well-being as well as greater equity.